Yukinoyo Nishiroi
by DarkAngelWind
Summary: Joshua remembers his first Game and how he overthrew the previous Composer. Includes TENYEAROLD!Joshua and notcrazy!Sho
1. Ramen and Reapers

**Yukinoyo Nishiroi**

**He **sat at the window, and watched. Watching. Looking. Seeing. That was all he seemed to be capable of doing lately. Shibuya's period of prosperity had passed, and he was powerless to do naught but watch as his beloved city slowly contracted and deteriorated. It was painful to witness, but he'd always known in his heart that even this great city was not eternal. After all, such was occurring in cities all across the world. Cities were declining. The living was rotting, physically and spiritually. The world was dying, but those who were already dead, those who still had a purpose on the Earth, could not leave the planet and move on. People like him, the once all-powerful and omnipotent Composer, were now subjected to merely observing their kingdom's downfall.

The worst part, in his opinion, was that he had no method of refining Soul anymore. The infamous Reaper's Game would normally work wonders in such a situation, but for many years modern people were so heavily lacking in Soul and Imagination that no one could progress past the second day, and he'd had no choice but to discontinue it.

So now he waited, observing the futile efforts of simple-minded civilizations to survive. And the snow. At this point, the snow proved to be more interesting than ridiculous people. It was snowing so much lately. Silently. Rhythmically. Almost…hypnotically. Often he would be jarred out of a stupor by Sanae or Neku, only to discover he'd been staring out at the falling flakes for hours.

Neku…he'd been his Conductor ever since Megumi's failure. That had been so long ago, just when Shibuya was starting to decline. Megumi had come up with a plan to save Shibuya. The plan had certainly been interesting, and the Game had been more exciting than most, but it ultimately ended in Megumi's erasure. Thankfully, his proxy, Neku, was a suitable replacement. A smirk escaped the old Composer's lips as he remembered making Neku his Conductor, without his permission, of course. That was what made the transformation so fun. The reluctant boy had spouted off more swears than the Composer had thought possible, but in the end he proved more useful than Megumi had.

Still, even working with Neku lost its charm as he fell into monotony. Now these unbearable winter days were becoming more and more common. It was the boring winter days like today that caused him to reflect on his past more and more. To another boring day. A coffee shop, a bowl of ramen, a mural. A conversation, a car crash. Within minutes, he felt himself drawn back to that day.

SLURP! It took Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryuu less than five minutes to finish his large bowl of shio ramen. Satisfied, he closed his eyes and leaned back a bit on his stool.

"Mmmm….I'm in _paradise_…" He exclaimed contentedly.

"Glad you like it, Josh!" Ken Doi said with pride. "If you'd like, you're welcome to another bowl."

Straightening up a bit, Joshua fished around in his pockets for his beloved orange cell phone. He frowned as he saw the time.

"I'd LOVE to, but if I'm late for meeting my friend one more time he'll KILL me."

Ken Doi chuckled at his words. "In that case, you better hurry! Oh and thank you!"

Joshua nodded quickly and ran to the door. His friend was going to get it now. Joshua HATED working up a sweat. He was so busy sending his friend mental curses that he almost slammed right into the man entering the shop. He looked up in annoyance, preparing to mutter a brief apology and bolt, when he noticed some…_attributes _the person possessed. Accentuating his odd (to Joshua) clothing, the strange man sported a pair of thin black wings!

"Y-you….you h-have…" Joshua could do little more than stutter.

The man, an orange-haired guy with a lollipop, frowned at his words.

"I have what…? Are you okay, kid?"

Realizing his mouth was still open, Joshua closed it immediately. Still, he couldn't bring himself to speak,

"…Something on my back?" The guy asked, appearing to be holding back a grin. He turned around, and then let his smile finally escape.

"I'd say you're blind, kid. Ain't nothing there."

Joshua grimaced, barely registering the man's words. Every time the man talked, his wings seemed to furl and unfurl. He paused a moment, then pushed passed the man and streaked down Dogenzaka without a glance back.

Joshua pushed through a crowd of annoying girls at 104, squabbling over designs or sewing or something. He continued running, certain the man was chasing him. Finally, he stopped to catch his breath at the bustling Scramble Crossing. Looking around, he saw no sign of an orange-haired, winged man. Figuring a person like that would be hard to miss, Joshua assumed he was alone. However, he wasn't going to Udagawa to meet his friend just yet. The boy could wait; this encounter deserved a chat with Mr. Hanekoma.

Joshua pushed open the doors of the WildKat café, taking a moment to relish the delicious aroma. Scanning the shop, he realized that the café was empty again. Joshua could never figure out why. After all, Mr. Hanekoma's stuff was so good!

Having not quite caught his breath from his earlier run, Joshua panted as slowly approached the counter.

"H-hey Mr. H." He said heavily.

"Oh, hey, J!" Mr. Hanekoma said, not looking up from drying a mug. "How's it going?"

Joshua didn't answer, as he was still trying to quell his heavy breathing. After he received no reply, Mr. H. finally looked up from the mug. Seeing the child's scared expression, he couldn't help but worry.

"What's going on, boss? You look like you just saw a ghost! Or something from the game…"

"I DID! I saw this weird guy with black wings! He…was a reaper… right?" Joshua said hesitantly.

Mr. H. nodded. "Sounds like it. You get scared 'a it?"

Joshua crossed his arms and frowned. "Of course not. I just wanted to clarify what it was. Don't be ridiculous."

Sightings like this shouldn't even be a surprise to Joshua anymore. He couldn't remember any point in his life where he hadn't seen images from the Game. People who were reported dead a few days ago on the streets, fighting for their very lives against strange monsters. Teenagers walking right through him as if he were ghost. Occasionally, he'd even witnessed people vanishing into thin air, leaving only a few seconds of static as proof that they ever existed.

Of course, no one ever believed him. Joshua had been brought to numerous thickheaded psychiatrists. Every single one would flash him this sad smile as if he were a lost cause and would talk to him in short, simple sentences as if he were stupid. Eventually, Joshua learned to keep his mouth shut. That was until he met Mr. H. Not only did the man believe him, but he knew about the Game and could actually explain all of the weird scenes. At the moment, however, Mr. H was also staring at him like he was crazy. Joshua sheepishly ran a hand through his silver hair.

"Sorry, spaced out. As I was saying, I'm TEN. I'm too old to get scared of a silly reaper." He continued defensively. Mr. H only laughed.

"Yeah, you're a big boy now, aren't you?" The barista grinned at him. "I'd offer you some hot chocolate, but aren't you meeting up with that spiky haired kid today? Up at my mural?"

Joshua leapt from his seat, "I totally forgot! Uh, later, Mr. Hanekoma!" The boy said quickly. In a flash, he'd already darted out of the café.

Mr. H. shook his head, muttering into the empty coffee shop, "Careful, J…I have a bad feeling about today…"

Joshua dashed down Cat Street, wondering how swiftly he could make it through Miyashita Park. Udagawa was so far away, and his friend's patience was so thin…But he barely had time to think before he collided with someone in Miyashita Underpass, sending them both sprawling.

"Hey, yo, watch where you're goin'!" The person exclaimed.

"Same to you." Joshua retorted indignantly. Glaring at the offender, Joshua found a pair a blue eyes staring back at him. The boy was blonde; much taller than Joshua, and rather bulky considering his young age. His skateboard was now rolling farther and farther away from them.

"The least you could do is apologize." Joshua added, breaking the silence.

The boy merely glowered at him then ran after his runaway board.

"Well that was rude…" Joshua muttered huffily. Shaking his head, he resumed his neurotic pace, with the yellow walls of Towa Records in sight. In his haste to avoid his friend's anger, he never the saw the car barreling straight for him.

They told him it was messy.

They told him it was inevitable, not his fault.

They told him Neku Sakuraba was never the same after his friend's failure to show up on that fall day.

Joshua wasn't aware of these facts, however, for a long time. The boy merely lay on the pavement, unconscious, as people milled around him as if they couldn't see him. He lay in wait until the beginning of the next week, when he finally awoke. Somehow, clamped tightly to the comatose child was a black and white pin with a skull design.

* * *

Hi! I found this old story lurking in my documents, and decided to bring it to you lovely people~ The chapters themselves were in pretty bad shape though...they were riddled with ridiculous grammatical errors and little comments in parenthenses...along with the annoying honorifics, it looked a lot more like an inside joke than a story. I completely revamped the story and tried to add a new plot, since I really don't remember where I was going with this...Anyway, the point is, there was so much to fix and I was bound to have missed something. If you find any mistakes, please please PLEASE tell me~ I'm also not sure if I'm writing Joshua correctly...sometimes he seems too old or too young. Advice is appreciated. Thanks!


	2. Day 1

Yukinoyo Nishiroi 2

**An** intense light bathed the area in its warm glow. Caught off guard by the sudden brightness, the boy shielded his eyes. As his vision adjusted to the light, he started to make out a figure among the beams. A girl, he realized. Blinking away the spots from his eyes, Joshua began to separate vivid green eyes from pale skin, long golden hair from the back it cascaded down. Steadily, the girl's bell-bottom jeans and peace sign necklace began to come into focus as well. A few moments passed, and then the girl extended her arms and spoke.

"Welcome, Player!" She said with the lifeless tone of someone who was forced to recite the same lines many times. "Welcome to the Reaper's Game. You will be here seven days. You'll get a mission every day. You need to forge a pact with a partner. You're going to get attacked by noise. Defeat them with them your partner. Survive to the end of the week, and you just might come back to life." She sighed and flipped her hair. "Let's see…I think I covered everything…" She muttered to herself.

Joshua could only stare at the glowing being before him, blocking out every word she spoke after: "Player." Player. In the Reaper's Game. After being forced to remain a spectator for so long, he was finally in the game! All his fantasies of playing the game, of experiencing that thrill, of having the talent to erase the strongest noise and take on the meanest reaper- because, naturally, he would be one of the strongest and most admired players, how could he not?- would finally become reality.

"HEY KID! Are you DEAF?" The girl's shrill yell jolted him out of his reverie. "I'm talking to you, kid!"

"Ah…sorry…what was that again?" Joshua tried to stifle a smirk from her annoyed tone.

"I SAID do you have any questions!" Came the irate response.

Of course he had questions. He had more questions than he had ever thought of before. Did those who were still alive KNOW he was in this game? Was there a funeral for him? What was going to happen to Neku? How do you use those odd attacks he'd seen Players using? What was his entry fee? But for some reason, only one question left the boy's lips.

"…Are you a hippie?"

"WHAT? NO! NOT ANYMORE! WHY DOES EVERYONE ASK ME THAT?" The shimmering girl demanded, now enraged.

"…Sorry…it's just you look SO much like one…" Joshua didn't even bother to hold back the growing smirk on his face, nor the quiet, girlish giggle that suddenly escaped him.

The girl paused, silently looking the silverette with cold, blue eyes. Pulling her lips back in a sneer, she broke the stillness with a sudden comment that caused Joshua to simply shudder.

"You're going to love your entry fee, you little brat…" The girl snapped her fingers. Instantly, the world went black, and all that could be sensed in the darkness was the lingering scream of a small silver haired boy.

"Well, Meggy, are you sure you're up to this?" The blonde haired girl asked a shadowy man with red headphones.

He gave a slight bow, trying his best to suppress his frown at the nickname. "Of course, Ms. Chiaki. You can fully depend on me."

Chiaki grinned. "Yeah, I know. You're not like the other reapers, all after my seat and Sayuri's. Oh, speaking of Sayuri, I just heard that we have two players in the game with really high imagination. She wants us to keep an eye on them…oh, but just between you and me, one of them is a really annoying little kid. He thought I was a hippie, too." She crossed her arms, pouting. "He's also, like, ten years old. He won't last long anyway. So, you know, if you make things extra hard for him, I won't tell anyone…" The Conductor's grin started to resemble that of the Cheshire Cat, a smile that any reaper knew to fear.

"…A-as you wish, Ms. Chiaki …" The man said trailing off.

"Excellent." She said with a grin. "Well, I have to be at a surprise 'appointment' with Koki. It's about time that man moved up in the food chain. I'll check up on you later, Meggy!" She said in a sing-song voice. With that, Chiaki strutted out of the room, her long blonde hair billowing behind her.

The man's demeanor immediately changed from obedience to rage in her wake. "No…I mustn't get upset yet…not until the game is over…" At the thought of the unbearable Conductor's fate, a small smile appeared on his face. "Chiaki Itazuki…your time is almost up."

Darkness. Nothing but the pitch black darkness. He could feel the cold pavement and itchy fallen leaves through his clothes, he could hear the boisterous crowds, he even caught a whiff of the distinctive scent of a hot dog stand. But he saw nothing.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE- "All right already…" The aggravated boy felt around for his pocket and pulled out what he assumed was his vibrant orange cell phone. The minute he answered it, however, he realized there were two problems. First, this wasn't a phone call, it was a text. More importantly, someone had changed his ringtone to some irritating beeping! How dare they! Still, he had no way to view the text. Frowning, the boy placed his phone back in his pocket. After watching so many players struggle with their own entry fees, it wasn't hard for Joshua to deduce his own. Sight. The boy was practically helpless in the one place he'd always dreamed of being in. And he still didn't even know the mission.

Suddenly, Joshua felt like his very hand was burning. Appalled, the boy brushed his fingers across his other palm. As he realized just what was on his hand, he had to clamp his mouth shut to stifle a shriek. For, etched into his palm, was a timer, slowly ticking away.

Joshua jumped as he heard a croaking sound from very, very near. Slowly, a pack of dixiefrogs had crept up to the boy.

"Ow!" Joshua yelped as he was scratched by the amphibious Noise. He was set upon by the Noise at once. As much as he tried to run, the boy didn't need eyes to see that there were far too many to outrun. It was over, he realized. Erasure was just around the corner. He was noise-food. Until he heard a glorious sound. One that he never thought he'd be so grateful to hear. Footsteps.

"Prepare to be iterated!" A voice rang out. "You, kid, make a pact with me, NOW!"

Stumbling and shielding himself with his arms, Joshua staggered towards the direction of the voice. He heard an irritated sigh as an unknown hand grabbed his own.

"So zetta slow…" The voice murmured.

Suddenly, a peculiar sensation overwhelmed him. The boy had never really been aware of his own heartbeat-unless, of course, he was scared-but now he felt the odd impression of two hearts beating within his chest. After the shock of this revelation wore off, he also began to feel the presence of…something. Something…unfamiliar, something definitely not he, that stirred at the edges of his consciousness. If this was what it felt like to have a partner, Joshua wasn't so sure he wanted one anymore. He would never be able to get used to this feeling.

A wonderful feeling of weightless snapped him out of his thoughts, but the sense dissolved all too soon as he felt solid ground beneath his feet. 'What I would give to just float like hat again, instead of walking around as blind as a mole' he thought to himself forlornly. There was no time for asinine desires, however, for Joshua could hear the grating croaks of the approaching noise.

"What do you think you're DOING, you zetta son of a digit? If you get hurt, _I _feel it too, so you better stop daydreaming and start fighting!" An angry voice resonated in his mind.

But the boy didn't have the faintest idea how to fight the creatures. He let out a yelp as one of them knocked him to the ground. Somehow, he could feel his partner cringe from the impact, as well as his phone digging into his side. But then he heard a beep, and an echoing crash. Something very large and very heavy landed on top of the nearest Noise, and Joshua heard the sizzling sound he always associated with erasure.

"Was that…me?" The stunned boy wondered. Recalling the earlier blip of his phone, Joshua dug around in his pockets for the familiar object. The child stood up and gripped his phone in his trembling hand. Looking to what he assumed was the general direction of the noise; Joshua dialed a random combination of numbers. As he waited with bated breath, he once again heard the sound of something enormous colliding with an amphibious being accompanied by the crackle of erasure.

"Heh heh heh…" Joshua let out a suspiciously maniacal giggle as realization dawned on him. Smirking, the boy entered combinations faster than he ever had before, relishing each satisfying sound of static. The very moment he stopped hearing the croaking, the sense of flying encompassed him once more. As he felt his feet touch pavement, he had the unnerving feeling of someone watching him.

"Well that was fun!" Joshua said cheerily, assuming he was talking to his math-obsessed partner. For a moment, he heard only silence from the other end.

"…You're a weird kid." The voice said finally.

"So I've been told." Joshua replied with a smirk. As the man paused yet again, Joshua twirled his hair indifferently to fill the silent void.

"Hmph. Annoying as you are, you're not a bad fighter. I think we're going to get along pretty well, kid." The boy detected a hint of a smile in his partner's voice. "What's your name, anyway?"

"I'm Yoshiya Kiryuu, but Mother and Father call me Joshua. I suppose you can too." He responded nonchalantly, his fighting rush beginning to wear off. "And yourself?"

"Sho Minamimoto. But Mother and Father call me…Sho. Minamimoto. You never could've guessed that, radian." The man answered in a condescending tone.

Joshua ignored Sho's teasing and quickly moved on to the topic he'd been curious about since he started the game.

"So, um…what's the mission?" The boy asked, attempting to sound casual. He could feel Sho gawking at for the umpteenth time.

"What do you mean, 'what's the mission'? Haven't you checked it yet?" Sho shouted furiously.

"Of course I've checked it." Joshua lied, preferring to sound like an idiot over losing his pride. "I just…didn't understand it."

"You didn't understand it? What are you, a yoctogram? It's so simple!" Muttering angrily, Sho took out his phone and read off the message. "'Welcome, Players! Proceed to 104 before thirty minutes are up. If you fail, you face erasure. Good luck! Signed, the Reapers.' Now is that so difficult?" Sho demanded, clearly doubting the intelligence of his partner.

"Ah…now it makes sense…I must've misread it. Thanks SO much for clarifying that, Sho-kun." Joshua said with a forced grin. There was silence from the other end again. Joshua wondered if Sho wanted to take back what he had said about them getting along well.

"Don't you EVER call me that name again, you zetta son of a digit, unless you want to drown in a sea of imaginary numbers!" The man shouted indignantly. Joshua only giggled.

"I'll try to remember that. Now, shouldn't we be on our way to 104? I don't know about you, but I'd prefer not being erased on the first day, hm?" The boy said with an air of impatience.

"A2+B2=C2! We're almost out of time!" Joshua could only hear Sho's loud footsteps thundering away from him.

"…Right…" The boy said sardonically. Shaking his head at the many math references, he strained his ears for the sound of Sho's steps. Not surprisingly, it wasn't mission impossible. He hoped no one could tell he was following Sho like one of the three blind mice. Three blind mice…what an awful pun.

Disgusted by his thoughts, Joshua tried to divert his mind to another subject. He wondered how many clueless people he was walking through. He wondered if, somewhere among the raucous and close-minded throngs of Shibuya, there was another person like he who could see the Game. He wished, while he was alive, he could've met this person. Talked to them. Shared their odd experiences, that no other living soul would believe. Except Mr. Hanekoma, of course. But Mr. H. was so…old, compared to him. He longed for someone his age. He often felt so alone. There had been many times when he had considered leaving it all behind and becoming a player. It would've been so easy. A pull of a trigger, a dive into water, a leap off of a building- simple.

However, he could never bring himself to do the job. Something, some_one_ always held him back. Neku. They were the other's only real friends. They were both outcasts, the crazy kid and the emo kid. Neither cared. They had each other.

But he was dead. Neku was alone. Joshua couldn't help but worry what had become of his friend. He had to win this game, he decided. For Neku. Otherwise- Joshua halted abruptly from the noise, or rather, the lack thereof. Had he lost Sho? Terrified, he rushed forward into the unknown without a clue of where he was going. Suddenly, he felt a jolt in his hand. Running his hand over the other, he was astonished to discover smooth flesh.

"There you are, you zetta moron! What took you so long?" Sho's voice rang out.

"I don't do the sweating thing." Joshua responded curtly. Sho groaned.

"Do you have to be difficult in every way?" Sho asked exasperatedly.

"I try my best~!" Joshua replied with a smirk.

"This is going to be a-" Sho started, but then stopped. Everything stopped as the world slowly faded away.

"Meeeeeeeeegyyyyyyyy!" A woman called out with false cheer. "Why did you assign that generic first mission? It's so…boring! I thought we agreed that you weren't going to follow boring traditions!"

"You never said that, Ms. Chiaki." The man stated calmly.

"…Well now I am! And by the way, forget what I said about that kid." Chiaki sighed exasperatedly. "Apparently he has an unusually high imagination, and his partner's is almost as high. Sayuri thinks it'd be interesting to see how far they get. She never let's me have any fun, senile old hag…" Chiaki murmured, pouting.

The Game Master instinctively glanced around the room for eavesdroppers, than turned his shocked gaze to the Conductor. "M-ms. Chiaki! Surely you don't mean such things about the Composer…?"

"Of course I do!" Chiaki snapped at him, "I think it's about time she stepped down. Anyway, have some more creative missions, 'kay?" Her sweet smile immediately returned as if it had never left.

"As you wish, Ms. Chiaki" As the girl left, the man couldn't help but gloat to himself about his miraculous luck.

"She's planning an attack on the Composer? This keeps getting easier and easier…"

* * *

The revamp of Joshua's past continues~ This one was ridiculous...I think I must've been watching TV while writing, because there were random lines inserted everywhere that had nothing to do with the plot. My absolute favorite? Kitaniji's "Now I must ready the stars..." Stuck in the middle of a rant to Chiaki. Not really sure where that one came from.

Seems like no reaper is safe right now, with all of the assassinations being planned. Now we get to see how Kitaniji became the Conductor as well~

Please review! For ten-year-old, blind Joshua?


	3. Day 2

Yukinoyo Nishiroi 3

"Yoshiya Kiryuu, the doctor will see you now." The receptionist called in a bored manner. The family she saw walk past her was not the average dysfunctional family. A pretentious businessman in an expensive Pegaso suit with his nose high in the air, most likely the father of the patient. His white blonde hair and vibrant purple eyes identified him as a foreigner. Almost hiding behind the man was his timid wife. With her long black hair and submissive demeanor, she seemed unusually traditional. Finally, the patient himself was practically dragged down the hall by the man. The boy was the spitting image of his father, down to the fancy clothes. Clearly this wasn't this boy's own choice, however, as he was constantly fidgeting with his uncomfortable-looking tie. The woman sighed and returned to the papers on her desk. Whatever was wrong with this kid, it was clear that his parents weren't helping the issue.

Joshua was wedged tightly between his parents on the too-soft couch. Of all the therapists his parents had dragged him to; this one had the worst room. It was yellow, Joshua's least favorite color. The theme was "sunshine", and the room was plagued by pictures of unbearably-happy suns. The purpose of the room was probably to reassure a nervous child, but in Joshua's case, he only wanted to leave more.

It didn't seem possible, but Joshua felt himself sink into the squishy couch even more. Perhaps if he waited long enough, he'd sink straight through the couch and out of this obnoxious room away from his further obnoxious parents. He smiled at the thought. No one would care anyway. It would be less money for them to spend.

The psychiatrist finally entered the room, beaming even more than the suns on the wall.

"Daniel, Hana, it's so nice to see you!" She exclaimed, shaking their hands. She knelt down to Joshua and leaned far too close for comfort She spoke loudly and precisely, as if she wasn't sure the boy would understand. "And how are you, Joshie?"

"Fine." Joshua responded coldly. The psychiatrist –Joshua had never bothered to learn her name- sat down on another too-squishy armchair across from them.

"Great! So, I hear you've started kindergarten! You're getting to be such a big boy, Joshie! How do you like school so far?" She chirped.

"It's fine." He repeated, earning him a nudge from his father.

"Would you like to tell me a bit more than that?"

Joshua crossed his arms and glared at her. "It's almost as boring and pointless as being here." His father's face turned beet red, while the psychiatrist's smile slowly faded. In the blink of an eye the smile was back, even wider and cheery than before.

"No little boy really likes being in school. Well, have you made any friends?"

"Yes. His name is Neku."

"Joshua. We told you not to associate yourself with that street boy. He's a bad influence." His father cut in. He turned to the psychiatrist. "He hasn't made any _real_ friends yet."

"Neku is not a bad influence! He's nicer than any of the other kids at school! And Mr. H is my friend too!" Joshua shouted. His mother flashed him a warning look at the mention of the infamous Mr. Hanekoma.

"Oh, not this again! I said REAL FRIENDS Joshua! Not some imaginary coffee-maker whose shop is MAGICALLY open only for you!" The Kiryuu's were tired of hearing about Joshua's escapades to the WildKat café. It was true, however, that the shop was never open whenever someone retrieved Joshua. He always seemed outside, insisting he just left Mr. H.

"MR H IS REAL! YOU JUST WON'T FACE IT THAT SOMEONE ELSE BELIEVES ME ABOUT THE GAME-"

"STOP!" The psychiatrist screamed. She smiled sheepishly, lowering her volume tenfold. "We're not here to talk about imaginary friends; we're here to discuss Joshua's…delusions." She said, hoping Joshua wouldn't know the word. He didn't. "So, Joshua, you're still seeing monsters?" The boy nodded. "Is that all you see?"

"No. I see people too." She smiled at him, and the encouragement was all the boy needed. "There're people, Players, who walk right through me and everyone else-" His father snorted. Both Joshua and the psychiatrist shot the man a glare. He continued, "and people who use magic to fight the Noi-, the monsters. And sometimes I see people disappear like when the TV gets all fuzzy, that's when they're getting erased you know, and sometimes I see the Reapers, these people with black wings who make the monsters.

"Okay, when do you see these people?"

"Usually just around Shibuya, but sometimes in shops too." Joshua said calmly.

"Are you…with your parents when you see things?" She inquired.

Joshua paused. "Um…I'm not with them very often, so I don't really remember." He tried to hold back a smirk, knowing this would get his parents in trouble.

"What? Don't act like you never get any attention, Joshua! Your Nanny just took you out for ice cream yesterday! And maybe if you were actually home instead of wandering around in the alleyways with that brat, you'd see us!"

Joshua almost laughed at this. "Maybe I'd stay home if my parents didn't come home drunk when I'm already in bed."

"YOSHIYA KIRYUU! STOP EXAGGERATING!" He turned to the psychiatrist, almost desperately. "He's exaggerating, really! This is what we meant, he makes up these ridiculous stories-"

"…Joshua, could you wait outside for a moment?" The psychiatrist said softly.

Puzzled, the boy nodded and left. But he didn't go very far. He leaned his head against the door, straining his ears to hear the conversation. However, he could only catch a few snatches of their whispering. "…Lonely…not his fault…obvious cry for help…spend more time with him" this last phrase was said by his father, and that was the end of the conversation.

"Joshua, you can come in." The psychiatrist called through the door. But the furious boy went no farther than the open doorway, glowering at them with accusing eyes.

"You think I'm crazy too, don't you?" Joshua screamed, his voice shrill.

"Of course not, we just-"

"Don't lie to me! You think I'm some sad little kid who misses his mommy and daddy? You think I'm doing this for attention?"

His father stood up, eyes blazing. "Sit down Joshua, we're just trying to fix you!" The second the words were out of his mouth, he realized it was the wrong thing to say.

"FIX ME? You are the last people on Earth who could 'fix me'! I'm tired of these stupid doctor's appointments! I'm tired of YOU! When are you going to realize that there's nothing to fix? Just leave me alone already!" Joshua stormed out of the room, hating himself for the tears in his eyes. He tried to ignore the shouts of his parents behind him, calling his name. No, that wasn't his parents' voice…

"JOSHUA, WAKE UP!" Someone was shaking him vigorously. The doctor's office faded away into the ever-present darkness. Though he couldn't see, he could easily imagine the impatience on his partner's face. He stretched lazily as he sat up, trying to be as slow as possible.

"Good morning, Sho! Were you saying something?"

"Sleep well, prissy boy?" Joshua detected a snarl in his partner's voice. "Would you like to sleep a little more, or maybe…if you feel you're up to it…DO THE ZETTA MISSION!"

"Sounds lovely. What's the mission?" Joshua asked casually.

"Check it yourself." His cranky partner retorted.

Joshua sighed and grabbed his phone. He feigned reading the mission for a few minutes, then put his phone away. "So, what do you think it means?"

Thankfully, Sho seemed rather proud about what he'd figured out so far, and was happy to give Joshua some hints on the mission. "I think the 'heart of Shibuya' is either Scramble Crossing or the 104. But since it says the "heart atop the heart of Shibuya, it's probably the 104." Joshua gaped in the general direction of the man.

"…What?" Annoyance crept back into Sho's voice.

"You…just spoke three sentences…with no math references! Are you sure you're the same partner I had yesterday?" Joshua inquired with a giggle.

"Do you WANT me to use more math references?"

Joshua should've expected that was a bad thing when he heard the tone in Sho's voice. The math-obsessed man shouted formulas in his ear the entire way to the 104 building. At least it helped him to stay close to Sho…Still, Joshua felt like he was going to explode after just five seconds. Joshua had never been so happy to reach the 104 building.

"So we've got to get to the top, right? Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, that's high up…"

"Maybe there's a ladder around the back?" Joshua offered.

"Pro'bly." The sound of Sho quickly running away met Joshua's ears, and the panicked boy struggled to keep up with man.

"There!" Sho shouted, and probably pointed.

"Great. Would you like to do the honors?" Joshua asked, hiding the fact he had no idea where the ladder was.

"No way, you factoring hectopascal! I've been doing everything since we made the pact, it's your turn to do something. 'Sides, ladies first."

"Excuse me?" Joshua started to argue, but was pushed against something rusty. The ladder. No wonder Sho didn't want to go up it, it felt like the slightest breeze might topple it. Sighing, Joshua began to climb the metal death-trap. Behind him, Sho was arguing with someone.

"Only one partner per pair. GM's orders." A wall reaper, most likely. Joshua stopped climbing and turned to face them in horror.

"Sho can't come with me? But…I can't…" Joshua was petrified. He couldn't see his own hand and he was expected to climb a rickety ladder and search for the 'heart' on top of a huge department store? But the timer on his hand was ticking, sending waves of pain every time a new number appeared. He turned back to the ladder and continued his ascent.

"Hey, kid, look on the bright side…you're already dead!" Sho laughed.

"Thanks. Very helpful." Joshua muttered.

It seemed like days to Joshua, but after a few minutes of constantly losing his footing and dangling above Shibuya by just one hand, Joshua reached the top of the 104 building.

"Okay…now to find this heart…" He murmured to himself. He started feeling around blindly for something remotely heart-shaped, but then it occurred to him that he could fall off the building that way. Also, the 'heart' might be something small, on the ground.

Now Joshua felt ridiculous. Here he was, crawling around the roof of a department store on his hands and knees, looking for some stupid heart-shaped…thing. There. The boy's hands closed around a small, cold object. A pin. Good enough. If it wasn't the right 'heart', well…Sho could try next time. No…the timer was gone. Sighing with relief, Joshua made his way towards the ladder again, only to lose consciousness inches away from the toppling over the edge.

"That wasn't half bad, Meggy!" Chiaki said sweetly, "But just one teensy-weensy problem….WHY THE HELL WAS THERE NO NOISE?" She demanded furiously.

"I thought I'd make the mission a bit…unique." The man retorted coolly.

"Unique. Yes, it's definitely more unique when a mission has the difficulty level of hopscotch. VERY. UNIQUE."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Chiaki. I was simply following your orders. If you'd like, I could revert the missions back to more…basic levels."

"Are you determined to annoy me in every possible way today Megumi? You can have your weird riddles, but just add some more Noise, got it?"

"As you wish." He replied with his usual courteousness. The Conductor studied her Game Master for what seemed like hours. Finally satisfied, she stalked out of the room. The man let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. He grinned to himself.

"Even if you catch on now, it's too late. I've already begun your downfall." The man took a pin out of his pocket and tossed in the air a few times. The pin was red with a black heart in the middle. The same pin was clutched in the hand of a young boy on top of the 104 Building.

* * *

I think this is my favorite chapter so far, if only for the flashback scene in the beginning. Now we see why Joshua is messed up~ And for a kid who says he hates to sweat, I really make him run a lot...

I think this was the fastest submission I ever did...I finished writing this just as a thunderstorm started XD In case you didn't realize, this chapter marks the first new chapter of this story, the other two were simply revamps of older ones. For creating an entire new plot, I don't think I did that bad...

As always, please review~


	4. Day 3

"Sho?"

Joshua had awakened in total darkness for the third morning in a row, both excited and apprehensive about continuing the Reaper's Game. As he had for the past three days, he once again heard the blip of his phone being sent the details of the mission and felt the burn of the timer etched into his palm.

However…there was no sign of his partner. He called again, a tinge of nervousness creeping into his voice.

No answer.

Something clutched his sleeve. He screamed. This was it. The noise were coming for him

"Are you out of your vector?" The noise shouted. Wait…that wasn't a noise.

"SHO?"

"Yeah, the one and only. Who you've been staring right at like I'm invisible or something."

Joshua's mouth dropped. "You've…been here the entire time? Why didn't you answer?" He tried to sound indignant, but he was still shaken.

"I was going to, but kid…you can't see can you?"

"Of course I can! Don't be ridiculous!" Joshua said a little too forcefully.

"Right…then point to me."

Joshua tried to point in the direction he had last heard Sho, but the boy had apparently moved. "Yeah, I thought so." Sho said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I tell you? I can get along perfectly without my sight. Besides, it's only for four more days." The boy insisted with his hands on his hips.

"Right…that's why you follow me around like yocotgram, and can't even read the mission? You should have told me." Sho said softly. Catching himself caring, his tone quickly changed to teasing. "Here Joshie, hold on tight to my hand!"

Joshua glowered at him, but the math-obsessed man only laughed. "I'm over here!"

"Shouldn't we get on with the mission?" Joshua said suddenly, trying to bring the attention away from his lack of sight. It didn't really work.

"Sure. What was the mission again? Oh wait…..would you like me to read it for you?"

Joshua said nothing.

"Okay, okay, sorry. You're such a priss, it's just so easy… Silence Towa Records."

"What?" Joshua said confused.

"Silence Towa Records. That's all the mission says."

"That's….short. So we just have to take out some noise? Where are we, anyway?"

"Cat Street. This mission shouldn't take long at all." Sho paused for a minute, and then continued, "Hey, kid. Since we're so close anyway, would you mind if I took a little side trip? We still got lots of time. I'll keep talking, so just follow the sound of my voice, all right?"

"Just don't take too long…" Joshua said as he started to follow Sho. "So…where are we going?"

"My place."

"You live on Cat Street?" Joshua said in surprise. "I was here more than I was ever home…maybe we saw each other in life?"

"Maybe. What were you doing here? There's not that much to see up here…"

"You know the Wildkat Café?"

"That factoring shack that's always closed?" Sho said derisively.

"It's not a shack! And yeah, it usually is closed but the owner is my friend, so he let me in. I wish I could see him…"

"Hey, when we're done we can go visit your friend if you want. I really gotta see my brother though. I just gotta make sure he's okay, you know? Without me." Sho's voice cracked.

"How touching."

Sho sounded embarrassed. "Shut up! Aren't you missing anyone?"

"Not really. Mr. H- the guy who owns the Wildkat. And…there was a friend I was supposed to meet just before I died."

"Hey, kid-"

Sho's warning came too late. Joshua barely had time to put his hands out to stop himself from falling as he tripped onto the stairs.

"-watch out."

"Thank you for that timely warning." Joshua said drily as he brushed himself off.

Sho ignored the comment. "This is it."

"What a lovely little place. I just love the color of those shutters."

"Don't be an ass." Sho growled. Joshua jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder, guiding him. "Now shut up. Don't want Minamimoto to hear us."

"Sho, they can't hea-" But Joshua was cut off by a finger to his lips. Sighing, he decided to play along with Sho.

The older boy led Joshua up the stairs, both of them wincing at every creaky step. Unfortunately, there were a lot of squeaky floorboards as well. The house didn't seem to be in the best shape. They walked down a short hallway, until Sho suddenly halted.

"This was-…is our room." Sho announced. There was a creak as he pushed the door open. "What the factor? Where's Jun's stuff? We had beds on opposite sides of the room but…here's just mine in the middle…And…" Sho trailed off suddenly and walked slowly across the floor.

"What is it?" Joshua whispered.

"That's…impossible…this picture of all of us, before Mom and Dad…where is Jun? It's like…he was never even here…" Sho said incredulously.

They could hear the echo of a door slam below. "Minamimoto." Sho snarled. It took only seconds for the boy to dash out of the room. Joshua tried to follow him, tripping over clothes and strange-smelling things the blonde didn't really want to identify. At least he could hear the math-obsessed boy's shouts.

"What did you do to him? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO JUN? You try to get rid of him again? You throw him in a trash heap again? ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD!"

To Joshua's surprise, there was a response. The horrible sound of agonized screams glided up the stairs. Joshua thought the worst. However, the screams did not sound like Sho. Instead, they sounded like a much older man. Finally Joshua made it to the stairs. As he attempted to half-skid-half-walk down the stairs, he heard Sho's angry voice. "WHAT ARE YOU SCREAMING FOR BASTARD? YOU FINALLY SCARED OF ME? KEEP ON SCREAMING."

"Sho?"

"Geez, what a temper," said a familiar voice.

"Mr. H?" Joshua was delighted at the sound of his friend's voice. He wished he could see Mr. Hanekoma…or at least see the panicked scene that seemed to be unfolding around him. What was going on?

"Hey, J! I should've known you two would be partners. I suppose high imaginations flock to each other…"

"Who the hell are you? Why are you in my house?" Sho rasped.

"Sanae Hanekoma. And no, but if you calm down a moment I think your stepfather would appreciate it."

"Are you saying this is my fault?"

"I am. Your stepfather is alive, he can't see or even hear you, so you're only exhausting yourself. The only thing you can do is imprint your own thoughts into his mind…which you've already figured out how to do, whether you realized it or not. Now all you're doing is causing him agony."

Joshua pictured an evil smirk on Sho's face. "So it is my fault. SOH CAH TOA." The screaming got worse. "This is for Jun, bastard!"

"That's enough of that. Jun's disappearance has nothing to do with him. He's your entry fee. You are playing for your brother's very existence. Don't you think it's more productive to go play the game instead of imprinting on this man?"

Mr. H logic. Joshua had missed it.

Even as he spoke, the screams of Mr. Minamimoto slowly died down, until he eventually fell quiet.

"I'm so sorry Jun…" Sho whispered.

"Well now that this is over with…why don't you two come with me to my shop? I can fix you some coffee, or some hot chocolate, if you'd like. For a small fee."

"Thanks, but we have a mission." Joshua said.

"You can miss just one mission, can't you? There are other players who can complete it."

"You mean we don't have to do the missions every day?" Sho's voice was losing its depressed monotony.

"Well, you can't think that way all the time. If everyone thought like that, no one would finish the missions. Still, it takes only one pair of Players to solve the mission, and get everyone off the hook. So, once in a while you can take a breather. So follow me, boys."

In only three days, Joshua had missed the smell of Mr. H.'s hot chocolate. He missed the Wildkat. He'd missed his friend immensely, especially now that he was in the Reaper's Game. Now if only he could actually see him. Mr. H. seemed to read Joshua's thoughts exactly.

"It's ironic, isn't it Josh? The boy who could see the Reaper's Game can't see at all. They pick they're entry fees well."

"You knew?" Joshua said incredulously.

Sho stood up suddenly, sending his chair back with a crash. "All right, this is zetta ridiculous. How do you know so much about the Game? Are you a Reaper?"

Mr. H. laughed. "A reaper? No. I just like to stay well-informed."

"But you said yourself the living can't see or hear us, and here you are making us hot chocolate in your weird shop that's never open! So who are you really?"

"You're sharp. Well, you could say I am...a guardian of this Game. But let me finally get to the reason I brought you two here…what do you plan on doing after the Game?"

Joshua imagined Sho grimacing at the change of subject and vague answer. "I don't like to think about that. I'd rather stay in the Game as long as possible." Joshua answered.

"And you?" He said to Sho.

"Survive. Do what I've been doing."

"All right. But…would you two really like to return to your lives? Neither of you were very happy…"

"What are you getting at?" Sho demanded impatiently.

"How would you two like to become Reapers? Before you shout, let me say one thing. A reaper can travel between the RG, the plane of Sho's brother and Josh's friend, and the UG, where this Game is held. While you have to do your duty in the Game every once in a while, you also can live your old lives, if you choose. Or you can have a new life on the side. It's up to you. With eternal life, you can do whatever you want."

"Why us?" Joshua asked.

"It's rare that two players with such high imaginations are found in the same game, let alone partner. I've known that Josh here was different, he could see the Game even when he was alive. And you, you could imprint on your stepfather without even knowing what that was. Look, I'm not trying to play advertiser for the reapers, but you should at least consider it. You have four more days. Though I think this day will be ending soon for you two." Mr. H. suddenly changed the subject. "Well there goes all the water for your hot chocolate…Ill boil another pot."

"Thanks Mr. H., but that won't be necessary. We should at least try the mission." As much as Joshua wanted to stay, he didn't feel right just forcing the duty on others. He stood up and motioned in a random direction for Sho to follow him.

"All right all right, go out and be responsible Josh. Nice meeting you, Sho…wait one minute. Josh, can I see that pin you have?"

"Hm? This one?" Joshua said, pointing to a random one, but in a mere second he felt Mr. H. tugging at his shirt to look at a pin. It seemed to be the pin from yesterday.

"Where did you get this?" Mr. H demanded.

Joshua opened his mouth to speak, but then the world fell into darkness.


	5. Day 4

Yukinoyo Nishiroi 5

BLIP

It was almost funny how much louder everything was when he couldn't see.

Almost.

Maybe it'd be funnier if it weren't for that timer that seemed to sear deeper into his hand with each passing day.

"Shall we get this over with?" Joshua sat up with a sigh. He received no response. "Sho?"

A sense of déjà vu washed over the boy. The last time this had happened, Sho had simply been teasing him. He must be hiding somewhere, probably laughing at him. Joshua stood up and walked around in random directions, occasionally calling Sho's name. He must be just out of reach. Was a joke first thing in the morning really necessary?

"This isn't funny Sho, let's just get on with the mission."

"Welcome to Sunshine Stationside!"

The silverette jolted at the sound of the cheery woman. He hadn't meant to walk into the open doorway; he'd only been looking for his partner. Who was still MIA. Of course he would have the luck to stumble into one of the few shops in which he was actually visible to the living.

Joshua immediately stopped griping when he caught a whiff of greasy, grimy, food. Well, if he couldn't find Sho…

Was that minestrone?

The bowl was half empty by the time Sho burst into the restaurant, shouting his name, reprimanding him in the most mathematical way possible, and…eating a burger. After four days, even dead kids had to eat.

"Do you know how hard I looked for you? What if the Noise got you? I'd never find you until we were both erased!" Sho demanded with a mouth full of food.

"I looked too. I suppose we were separated as part of the mission."

"Then why the Hell were you hiding in a dingy restaurant if you were so worried about the mission?"

"There was minestrone." Joshua shrugged as if that was a perfectly sufficient explanation.

"You- you...GROW UP!"

Joshua did not even have the time to set down his bowl before the hand struck. His cheek stung, and molten soup singed his skin and clothes. The other patrons were stirring, the waitress was not sure if she should make them take it outside or protect the frail child.

The ten-year-old rose from his seat quickly, ignoring the minestrone dripping off his nose.

"Josh. I didn't-"

He bolted. He was not going to cry. He was not going to cry. He was not going to cry-

Tears splashed the ground, and Joshua's hands met smooth stone. Hatchiko. He crouched at the loyal dog's feet, curled into as small of a ball as possible. All he needed was rain, and he would look as emo as Neku. As hard as he tried, he still couldn't laugh at his joke. The thought of his living friend, who would never, ever hit him, only made his eyes wetter. For once in his life, Joshua wanted simply_ life_.

"Found you."

The ten-year-old made no move to acknowledge his partner's voice, far above him. From the sudden altitude of Sho's voice, Joshua figured that the boy was sitting on top of the dog statue, peering down at him.

Sho reached down to place a hand on Joshua's shoulder, but the silverette only flinched.

"You hit me." Joshua said softly.

The hand went away. "Yeah, well, the Noise do a lot worse than that." When he had no reply, Sho sighed. "You're the blind idiot practically throwing yourself at the Noise's feet-Look, I'm sorry. But the way you act, I feel like I'll never get out of this Game. You scared me."

"Scared that you'll never see your brother again?"

Sho began to argue; then stopped. "Yeah. I was worried about you, for Jun."

The words stung, but not as much as his cheek. And that was already apologized for. He rose.

"I'm used to it."

"What?"

"Being at the bottom of everybody's list."

"C'mon Josh, you know that's not true."

"You'll die again without me. You need me. That's all." Joshua crossed his arms and, without realizing it, stared straight at Sho's face.

"Wrong again, radian. We're partners. Friends."

"Do you really mean that?"

Before Sho could answer, Joshua simply startled him. "You're right. I don't WANT to leave this Game, and I won't. But I still couldn't be any more serious about winning, Sho, because after these three days, I'm joining the Reapers. But you-"

"I will keep Minamimoto from killing my brother like he killed me. But I thought 'bout what that crazy coffee guy said, and I'm gonna do it as a Reaper. You and me, we'll be the most bada**, zetta-f***in' Reapers Shibuya's ever seen." Sho hopped off Hatchiko and grabbed Joshua's hand. "Until then, we have a mission."

Grinning, Joshua let Sho pull him up. "What is it?"

Joshua's exhilaration faded quickly when he heard Sho's words. "No more Players."

The silverette's first thought was somewhere along the lines of "Battle Royale", and he shuddered. They couldn't really mean to set all the Players against each other? Joshua had never, never seen a Game where Players did anything other than help each other.

"Let's head to the Scramble. We'll see if we can make sense of this irrational mission there."

Joshua nodded, feeling sick to his stomach. They could take on Noise. Would they be able to survive against Players? Lost in his thoughts (and, of course, blind…) Joshua walked directly into a wall.

"Let us through!" Joshua shouted, slightly panicking.

"There's no wall Reaper, kid, there's only a wall." Sho paused. "Calm down, Josh. What are you so afraid of?"

The last thing he heard was a beep. Then it was just the crackling of flames. Searing heat everywhere, Joshua was a human barbecue. It was almost as if it was directed across him by some unseen hand. The shock and pain was bad enough for Joshua to deal with alone, but sensing Sho writhe and burn made it all the more agonizing. Suddenly, mercifully, the fire abated.

"Dammit!" An unfamiliar voice shouted. "C'mon you stupid pin!"

"Are you outta your vector?" Sho screamed. "We're Players!"

"Misa's gone. I've got four minutes." The voice said, muttering more to itself than to the pair.

The flames returned. With it came only Sho's screams and more pain. And then some part of Joshua decided that the assailant had even less than four minutes. He reached robotically for his cell phone, which was somehow still impeccable even as his own skin blistered. Barely conscious of himself, he began pressing random keys, faster and faster, relishing the screams of the other Player until finally, the roar of the inferno was replaced by the sound of static.

Only the boys' panting filled the silence, until finally Sho stopped his heaving enough to speak.

"That factoring hectopascal…did you just…erase him? But you…you're just…"

"I think he erased his own partner. " Joshua said with a shudder. Even after Sho had smacked his face, even after Sho's arm had splattered molten minestrone all over his clothes, the thought of erasing his own partner had never even been a possibility. It was unthinkable. It was unforgiveable.

"And you just erased _him_. That was…I've never seen you fight before. …Glad you're on _my_ side." Joshua had expected to hear disappointment, shock, or fear. Instead, Sho's voice contained…respect?

After years of watching Players be erased, Joshua decided now it meant little. Help your own partner, help yourself. Everyone else is as good as Noise.

"Oi, Josh, did you hear that beep just before the factoring hectopascal attacked? Thought so…there's a 'P.S.' to the mission…" Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Asterisk. New. That's all it says."

Joshua stared at Sho, or at least where he thought Sho was. That adjective made an enormous difference. There had been need for an all-out war among the Players. If it weren't for the ambiguous wording of the mission, Joshua wouldn't have had to break a sweat erasing that Player, and there would be at least one more pair to do the missions for them.

"So now we're after new Players…?"

"I don't think we're going after any Players. Think we gotta find out whatever the source of the 'new Players' is, and take it out. My guess is there is some sort of accident that's going to kill a lot of people, and we gotta stop it."

Joshua nodded. "Sho, how old are you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer."

"Thirteen."

"Okay. Good. Most Players are under 18. So whatever accident this is, it's probably targeting kids in school. A bus accident?"

"We can get to the West Exit Bus Terminal through this way." He grabbed Joshua's arm. "Come on, just walk with me."

Joshua was slightly irritated to be led around like a child, but still grateful that Sho now catered to his handicap. The fact Sho was so close to his age made the hint of inferiority sting less anyway. Who knew he was thirteen? He seemed much older, at least in high school. Maybe he would've realized Sho's age if he could actually see him…

There was a small part of Joshua that scoffed at his disbelief of Sho's age. Shouldn't you be more worried about how easy it was to erase that Player?

He silenced the voice when he heard the commotion. Gun shots . Screaming. The sound of pounding footsteps in all directions, except for exactly where he was heading.

"Sho?"

"…I'm really glad you can't see, kid."

Joshua didn't know what Sho was talking about, but he could sense the thick throng of Noise as he neared the bedlam. "Noise!"

"Are there?" Sho fumbled for his Player Pin. "You're right. Did you even scan?"

"I'm special." Joshua said with a smirk.

"And I'm going to be sick. Okay, Josh, there's a punk with a gun on top of a bus covered in bullet holes. And there's a lot of 'new Players' around him. And even more Noise. The source?"

"Let's take out the Noise."

Both boys took grabbed their Player Pins, and Joshua felt that wonderful flying sensation again. Which was rudely interrupted by a porcupine quill in his shoulder.

"Everyone just loves ruining my clothes today…" Joshua muttered as he grabbed his cell phone. He tried to face the Noise, but he realized it didn't matter. As he entered the numbers onto his phone, large objects fell onto the Noise anyway. All he had to do was button mash. "This is _nothing._"

Apparently he spoke too soon, as a wolf Noise suddenly knocked him to the ground. He could feel Sho wince at Joshua's distress. The Noise snarled above him, and drops of drool dribbled onto Joshua's collar. Joshua snarled back. He was really going to need new clothes.

It took him a few panicked moments, but he soon located his phone on the ground, still without a scratch. He kicked at the wolf Noise's belly with every ounce of his ten-year-old might, but it did not budge. Okay, Plan B. Joshua quickly rolled away from the howling beast, mashing buttons all the way. Even as he ran, he could feel the hot breath of the wolf on his back. Then, he heard a loud thunk, and the oh-so satisfying sound of static.

Joshua turned back around, using his Player Pin to sense the location of the Noise. There. With a characteristic smirk he began entering combinations, hoping he was going to squash the porcupine that tore his shirt. Instead, he cringed as more quills pierced him. With a sigh, Joshua began running around the battlefield with his cell phone. It was a sad attempt to dodge, and it was not very effective. Now they were really going to pay. Ruined clothes AND sweating? Fortunately, it did not take much longer for the Noise to be erased. Joshua welcomed the rush of flight, but it was gone again all too soon as his feet touched the grimy ground of Shibuya…Just before the boys reentered another battle.

Button-mashing. Ruined clothes. Static. Repeat. Noise after Noise, the pair kept on fighting, but nothing seemed to put a dent in the man's progress.

"Why are the Noise still coming?" Joshua demanded.

"I think we have to target the killer, not the Noise."

"How?"

"I'm gonna try something."

Joshua kept asking Sho what he was doing, but received no response. All he heard was a few grunts from Sho, but the screams dissipated…then turned into sounds of surprise and laughter. After what may have been half-an-hour of Joshua's impatience and the people's amusement, he finally heard the sirens of a police car make its way to the Bus Terminal. As the police officers addressed the killer, Sho finally returned to his side.

"What did you do?"

"Made him do ballet."

If there was ever a moment in the past four days that Joshua wished he could see, it would be right now. Even if it wasn't for the serial ballet dancer, he wanted to see the devilish grin he detected in his friend's voice. As he pouted to himself, the timer disappeared. There were no more new Players.

Joshua waited a few moments, but the ensuing darkness did not come. "The day isn't over?"

"Guess not."

Joshua wore a devious grin of his own. "In that case…I believe you owe me a favor for that little outburst earlier today…the one that ruined my outfit?"

"Whaddaya want…."

"I believe a shopping trip is in order!" Joshua sang.

Sho groaned. "You can't be serious. You've really got to be kidding."

"Nope! Come on, you owe me!" He couldn't stop grinning at his friend's despair.

"I don't even have any yen!" Sho defended himself quickly. It seemed he would do anything to avoid shopping.

"Yes. We do. Haven't you even taken a peek at all of the pins you've earned from fighting the Noise? And the pins the Reapers give us for completing the mission? I see Players cash these in all the time- they're worth quite a bit."

As Joshua spoke, he could hear Sho ruffling through his bag, searching for the pins. Sure enough, the math-obsessed boy gasped when he realized just how much money was in his bag. "This is more yen than I've held in my life." Sho admitted. "Minamimoto's lazy ass could never keep a job long enough to bring home any cash, even if people did give him pity jobs when he said he had two orphans to take care of. All this yen, and we're going to spend it on clothes…?"

"UG yen disappears when you leave the Game anyway. Might as well enjoy it while it's there! Now then…the clothes I'm wearing now are Pegaso, but I'll wear Dragon Couture if necessary. Of course, I'm extremely fond of Natural Puppy too, it's dressy but still casual enough to wear on the street, and-"

Joshua felt a hand over his mouth and debated whether or not to bite it. "Just stop." Sho whispered. "Stop while you can still pretend to have a shred of masculinity."

The yelp as Sho leapt away was almost as satisfying as digging his teeth into his partner's hand. "What was that for?"

"Just shut up and shop."

"You shut up. I'll see if we can get to 104 now. That's my only offer." Joshua crossed his arms and his sighed. Then he gave a melancholy nod. "Let's go prissy boy." Sho sang.

"Excuse me?"

Sho gave no reply, and merely yanked Joshua along by his wrist. As they passed Hatchiko, Sho startled Joshua with, "Hey, Josh. I tell you how much Minamimoto sucks all the time, but you never say a word 'bout your life."

"Does it really matter to you?" Joshua sighed at Sho's insistence. "My father was a wealthy businessman from England. My mother was the only existing heir to a failing company. My father changed his last name to match that of the family, promised my grandfather he would restore the company, and received my mother as prize. I serve as proof of that contract and as an occasional psychiatric patient. Satisfied?" He lifted in his hands in a gesture of nonchalance.

"Life is shit." was Sho's only comment. It was not an apology, not an "oh you poor soul!", and it was ten times more reassuring than those two statements could ever be. "SOH CAH TOA. The wall is gone." They passed into the Scramble and up to 104 in silence.

"So. This isn't Pegaso. But maybe Edoga can satisfy Mr. Kiryu anyway?"

No sooner had the words left Sho's mouth than a sales clerk stopped mid "welcome" and rushed over to them. "Are you all right? What happened?" He said to Joshua. Did he look that bad? Sure, he had minestrone stains, numerous rips and tears, wolf drool, and a possible black eye, but he couldn't look THAT bad.

Before he could reply, Sho shoved Joshua in the man's direction. He heard the jingle of yen passing between hands.

"Kid's fine. Needs new threads. Can't see. You handle him."

"Sho?" Joshua sounded slightly panicked as the too-excited man started to lead him away.

"I'll wait for ya by the door." He said coolly.

After numerous embarrassing outfit selections that Joshua was glad he had only a description of, the silverette finally found clothing he could accept. It was nothing more than a blouse and skinny jeans, battle-ready street wear in Joshua's mind, but it was much better than the shredded jacket and dress pants he had on before.

"Ready to go?" Sho said impatiently as Joshua waltzed over to him.

"Aren't you even going to compliment me on my outfit?" Joshua demanded.

Sho paused. "Nice. Now let's go."

"Just nice?"

"What do you want me to say? They're clothes! They're nice! Whatever!"

"Ugh, you are just…" The fight was never finished, as the boys suddenly blacked out.

"Two pairs of Players left. The trick mission worked perfectly….I think it's time to give the weapon a little test."


End file.
